Last Ireland Question - 1 week till we leave!
 

I think I've read a few too many guide books & trip reports because my head is starting to spin! I am trying to finalize our plans and I'm sure I am missing a few things....and adding things that I don't need! It is hard to figure out how much time is needed for certain sites.

How does this itinerary look?

Day 1: Dublin
Trinity College
Historical Walking Tour (Rick Steves)
Grafton Street
Merrion Square
Number 29 Georgian House
Pub Crawl (?)

Day 2: Dublin
Hop on/off bus
Dublin Castle
Kilmainham Gaol
Guinnes Storehouse
Cobblestones Pub

Day 3: Head towards Kilkenny
Gardens of Powerscourt
Wicklow Mts

Day 4: Head towards Kinsale
Kilkenny Castle
Waterford Tour (?)
Hooks Head Lighthouse (?)
Rock of Cashel
** I am 90% sure that you will tell me to cut out Waterford & Hooks Head - I am not interested in either but my DH is convinced we can do it :( It is the first thing to go though! hehe!

Day 5: Kinsale
Walk around town
Charles Fort
Desmond Castle
Midleton Distillery

Day 6: Head towards Kenmare
Blarney Stone
Muckrose House
Killarney National Park
Ancient Stone Circle

Day 7: Head to Dingle
Ring of Kerry

Day 8: Dingle
Historical Walk
Horseback Riding
Harbor Walk
Pub Crawl

Day 9: Dingle
Dingle Peninsula
Minard Castle
Puicin Wedge Tomb
Inch Strand

Day 10: Head to Doolin
The Burren
Aillwee Cave

Day 11: Doolin
Hike Burren Way
Cliffs of Moher
Aran Islands (?)

Day 12: Head to Westport
Ashford Castle
Cong
Coffin Ship

Day 13: Westport
Hike Croagh Patrick
Doo Lough Valley

Day 14: Head to Ennis
Kylemore Abbey
Explore Peat Bog

Day 15: Head Home


Everything is booked......bags almost completely packed....passports ready - Only 1 week to go! CAN'T WAIT!!

You've certainly booked yourself a busy and full trip.

Day 11--if you go to the Aran Islands, it is a full day trip from Doolin. It is also weather dependent so make sure that you will be able to get back and won't be stranded over there. The Cliffs of Mohr are quite close to Doolin so you could nip over after you get back or get up quite early and have a prebreakfast visit. After walking or biking around whichever island you go to, you may not have much energy left for hiking the Burren way. Also, remember the days are getting shorter as we head into fall, so take that into account before heading out on foot.

I enjoyed my visit to Hook Head lighthouse. Interesting visit and pleasant cafe for light lunch. That said, Hookhead and Waterford, do add quite a bit to the trip to Kinsale, time perhaps better spent at Cashel. Hike down to Hore Abbey ruin after visiting the rock.

When you do the Ring of Kerry, don't miss Staigue Fort. It is a brief detour off the main road. The road is too narrow for busses so you may have the place to yourselves. From your itinerary, I took a guess that you are quite interested in history. Staigue is prehistoric, built without mortar, and an interesting half hour or so walk around. The last time I was there, it had only a small sign, so look at your map and watch for it carefully. The turnoff will be on your right after you pass through Sneem on your way from Kenmare around the ring.

On your way to Kilkenny through the Wicklow Mountains, I hope you have time to stop at Glendalough--8th cenury monastic ruins.

Days 1 through 3 look full but OK.
However, there's No Way you will be able to fit in everything you have listed on Day 4. not even in the height of summer with long daylight hours for driving and seeing stuff would you be able to do all that. I strongly suggest that you don't even bother with heading towards Waterford - from Kilkenny go directly to the Rock of Cashel and (if you have time) visit the castle in Cahir before heading on to Kinsale.

I would also cut out the distillery from Day 5. It's out of your way being on the east side of Cork. You'd be better off, IMO, to visit Blarney this day if you have the extra time. Honestly though, I don't believe you will have any time to spare.

Day 11 has already been addressed by irishface, who is comepletely correct.

On Day 12 are you staying at Ashford or just going to see it? Not much to see, really, as only the main lobby is open to the public. I wouldn't spend a lot of time there if you are only passing through.

Which peat bog are you referring to on Day 14? Just wondering what your route to Ennis is like.

Otherwise I think you are good to go. You will have to change your plans as the weather and time allow you. Be prepared to get lost a good bit - that's part of the charm of traveling around Ireland. Some of my favorite memories had nothing to do with Planning and everything to do with Serendipity!

Safe travels

Wendy

Sorry waterlily, but I have to be brutally honest....a lot of days on that itinerary are insane. I am surprised you state how much you have read because, honestly, that itinerary seeems to be from somebody who really has not read a lot about traveling in Ireland. For example, DAY 6: WAY TOO MUCH. DAY 7: Head to Dingle to do the Ring of Kerry!!??? take out a map; have another go....

You also state you have a week to go, everything is booked....so why exactly are you asking for advice?! Go and DEFINITELY STAY OPEN TO CHANGES.

Some suggestions:
If you do one thing in Kinsale, I would suggest Herlihy's Walking Tour. It starts at 11:15 outside of the Tourist Office.

Day 6: I would drive to Kenmare and enjoy Kenmare. I'd skip the stops you have listed.

Day 7: You will need an early start. You can see part of the Ring of Kerry on your drive to Killarney. You will only have time for this part if you are continuing on to Dingle.
Stop at Muckross House and Torc Waterfall today--they're on the way to Killarney. Ross Castle--another stop?--it's lovely.
Inch Beach is on your way from Killarney to Dingle. May have to be a drive by.

We visited Ireland last Sept. and really enjoyed our visit. Slow down just a bit. Enjoy the pubs, the music and the fabulous scenery. You've got an outline here with your itinerary, but there just might not be enough time for everything. Let us know how your trip went. Have fun.

I agree with the others that some of your days are too ambitious. Getting from one place to another takes longer than you think it will.

Day 4 - you're driving from Kilkenny to Rock of Cashel with multiple stops on the way. And then the same day you're going on to Kinsale for the night? That's too much. Rock of Cashel is a bit out of the way - but well worth it! I'd spend the night there.
Day 11 is, likewise, too busy. The trip to the Aran Islands, as already mentioned, is the better of the day. You won't have time to do those other things.

By 'peat bog,' are you referring to the Burren? That's NOT a peat bog!

Hope we aren't all raining on your vacation too much, but I'd have to agree that some days will either be a whirlwind of stuff barely enjoyed, or just plain impossible. On the bright side, some days seem ok.

Dublin looks OK, and changes can be made easily if you need to juggle the schedule around a bit.

We did Waterford and Hook Head last year from Kilkenny, and it was a full day with us not back to Kilkenny until sometime around dinner time. (I didn't think I'd like the Waterford tour, but was pleasantly surprised. Hook Head was amazingly cool.) Since the Rock is around an hour the other side of Kilkenny, I wouldn't even try getting there the same day, much less trying to even get to Kinsale, which is another 2 hours from Cashel, at an acceptable hour.

One thing to consider, and it might be worth investigating before you go, is opening/closing times for places you are interested in. Many sites start to open later and/or close earlier in the fall. So even if you do decide to stick to a tight schedule, you don't want to get surprised by a change in admission time.

As Wendy and Viajero2 mention, being open to changes and Serendipity will often make for the best time in Ireland. Planning to do a lot is fine - I often plan on 2 or three itineraries for any potential location, to account for weather, or other things. We make up one day and decide that we'd rather just do nothing, too - and it's all good.

I know you only have a week to go, but you may want to quickly re-examine a few things just to be sure that you haven't booked yourself into an impossible situation. Don't forget, arriving too late can be an inconvenience for many B&B owners.

No matter what - enjoy your trip!

I wouldn't recommend driving out to Inch while already in Dingle. You can stop on your way in from the Ring of Kerry, or stop for coffee on your way out. It's alright but not worth an extra trip especially after driving the Dingle Peninsula in the same day. I was there last October and can't wait to go back!

Just a thought. When we were in Dingle, we took an archeological tour with the former Police cheif of Dingle. It was frigid cold but amazing.. Got the recommendation from Rick Steves.

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/tourn...timcollins.htm

That reminds me, on your Dingle Peninsula drive, stop into the Museum! Well worth the visit and the owner Harry may play some music for you!

Hmmm......I really thought I had this down :( I took most of our itinerary off of trip reports and what other people had done with their trips! The rest I took off of the Rick Steves book.

I am going to drop Waterford and Hooks Head (which is what I told DH) as well as a trip to the Aran Islands.

We have 2 nights in Kinsale and 1 night in Kenmare before heading to Dingle - We were going to visit the Muckrose House and Killarney Nt. Park on the way to Kenmare so we would only have the west half of the ROK to do on the way to Dingle. Everything I've read has said that this will take about 6hrs (taking in account some stops)....is this not correct? We thought if we got an early start (8am) we shouldn't pull into Dingle any later than 4-5pm (our B&B owner agreed).

::Sigh:: I have never has such a hard time planning a trip! For some reason Ireland is driving me crazy! :( Haha! Other parts of Europe, Asia, and South America were a breeze compared to this! :)

waterlily252 wrote: "The rest I took off of the Rick Steves book."

There's your problem: I don't know of any other person who has done so much to present a distorted view of Ireland.

You'll have a great time - Kinsale is so beautiful and had a great dinner at Man Friday (seafood)

"Everything I've read has said that this will take about 6hrs (taking in account some stops)....is this not correct?"

I think you are closer to On than Off in your calculations. An early start is definitely required though with stops along the way I would put the trip (including the hour or so it takes to get out to Dingle) more like 7 or 8 hours. If you make it in less then it's just more time to explore Dingle. I don't think you have any problems with this day. It's a day of driving... but methinks you knew this already.

Though you want to See and Do all on your list you have to remember that you are not traveling in the peak of summer. Your driving days will be much shorter than most who visit Ireland (eg June, July, August and even into September) and the greater chance of poor weather conditions can slow you down, too.

Don't be too discouraged though - most people tend to pack too much into their Ireland itinerary. We just want you to enjoy the time you do have and not experience the Green Blur Effect which can happen when you are doing a lot of driving and viewing everything from the car window in order to fit in all on your schedule.

You are nearly there! Both in your itinerary and your actual trip. The outline is good; fit in what you want most and take advantage of the "extras" if there's time or just enjoy what ever comes around the bend in the road. You will have a wonderful time no matter what.

Safe travels,

Wendy
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